HBS Managing the Future of Work

Fred Goff wants to tap the Web’s scale and connectivity to rebalance capitalism for the benefit of workers. The former hedge fund manager launched Jobcase, a workforce platform and online labor organization, in 2015. It’s a job search site, a clearinghouse for qualifications, and a support network for its 100 million members, most of whom lack a four-year degree. The AI-augmented community wields significant consumer- and investor influence. Fred shares his views on degree inflation, the skills gap, and the need for greater diversity in the workforce.

Nearly twenty years ago, Richard Florida famously identified the “creative class,” an amalgamation of knowledge workers and those in the arts, culture, and design fields. He established creativity as a basic economic force. Amid increasing inequality and unstable work arrangements, diminished techno-optimism, and the rise of global innovation hubs, he is still bullish on America’s capacity for invention. Florida argues for place-based economic development and skills-building up and down the socioeconomic ladder.

Workplace sexual harassment can derail careers, depress morale, and decrease productivity. The #MeToo movement focused attention on the issue, but left companies to figure out how to address this common and underreported problem. Harvard Law grad Ally Coll and tech entrepreneur Neta Meidav are working to change the culture around harassment. Coll is cofounder and President of the Purple Campaign, a nonprofit focused on business practice and public policy that is piloting a corporate certification program with the likes of Uber, Airbnb, Expedia, and Amazon. Meidav is cofounder of startup Vault Platform, whose application makes it easier to report and track harassment. They discuss the broader cultural and legal context and what leadership can do to promote safety and fairness in traditional and nontraditional workplaces.

HBS alum Stephen Moret led Virginia’s winning proposal for Amazon’s 2019 HQ2 expansion. A crucial factor in the Commonwealth’s success was its billion-dollar commitment to developing talent, particularly in computer science and engineering. In beating out states that pledged vastly greater subsidies to the retail giant, Virginia validated the view that targeted investments in workforce development can spur economic development. Moret draws on his experience in Virginia and Louisiana, and his doctoral research on higher education to explain how public and private sectors can boost growth and improve worker prospects. He also sheds light on the role post-secondary studies play in determining the arc of graduates’ career opportunities.

Dan O’Connor, retail expert and executive-in-residence with the HBS Managing the Future of Work project, traces the evolution of retail from the corner store through big-box, e-commerce, and the emergence of omni-faceted digital platforms. What are the implications for employers and employees throughout the sector? Retail accounts for more than 5 percent of US gross domestic product (GDP) and employs more than any other industry, roughly 16 million workers, or one in ten. Globally, the emergence of mega-platforms like Amazon and Alibaba, with their consolidated supply chains and mountains of customer data, is forcing the industry to adopt leaner and more responsive operating models while the workforce comes to terms with automation and other advances.

Amazon in the summer of 2019 announced a sweeping five-year plan to bolster the skills of a third of its US workforce—close to 100,000 worker-learners. The plan includes apprenticeships, partnerships with local community colleges, and internal programs. As Amazon’s Vice President of Workforce Development, Ardine Williams, notes, the initiative isn’t philanthropy. She argues that Amazon’s investment in training workers—even if some ultimately leave for higher-paying jobs—makes good business sense.

Art Bilger is sounding the alarm over systemic trends in the world of work—the mismatch of labor force skills and job requirements; automation; underemployment and structural unemployment. The Wall Street veteran, whose CV includes successes in media and high-tech, founded nonprofit media production company WorkingNation in 2016 to bring attention to these sweeping and rapid changes, which he warns could lead to economic and societal crises.  Through news coverage, short documentaries, a podcast, and town hall-style events, WorkingNation focuses on individuals and groups whose stories underscore the difficulties and illustrate solutions.             

For decades, enterprise systems vendors have promised legacy businesses virtual omniscience—decision-making informed by real-time, comprehensive views of their organizations’ activities and relevant external factors. This holy grail has eluded large established organizations, with their complex agglomerations of systems. Silicon Valley software developer Aera Technology touts an AI-assisted upgrade, tapping disparate systems and data flows to provide comprehensible and timely recommendations and automated decision-making. President and CEO, Fred Laluyaux, explains how advances in computing power coupled with vast stores of data are ushering in a new mode of operations, with computers handling more routine analysis and decision-making. This, in turn, is accelerating the automation of previously “safe” knowledge work. Laluyaux discusses the benefits and the organizational changes and challenges.

Financial Services giant Prudential is pursuing a hybrid workforce strategy. It’s all-in on automation for underwriting and other data-intensive, but routine, tasks. And it looks to the labor market for certain in-demand skills. But, according to vice chairman Robert Falzon, the New Jersey-based multinational is committed to cultivating the capabilities of its 50,000 employees. Many of its workers are also its financial services customers. This, along with low unemployment in the industry, helps explain why Prudential is working to develop its internal market for skills, identifying both supply (workers) and demand (jobs) in terms of competencies, expertise, and attributes, rather than experience and general categories. Falzon explains how this symbiotic approach leads the company to pursue efficiencies as it also looks to foster the careers of its home-grown talent.

The Washington Technology Industry Association’s Apprenti apprenticeship program is a creature of the Seattle tech industry. But since its 2015 founding, it has become a national player in the workforce development market. As a partner in the federal government’s push to extend apprenticeships beyond construction and the trades, Apprenti is addressing the skills gap while diversifying the tech workforce. Executive Director Jennifer Carlson discusses how Apprenti connects employers with promising candidates, many of whom lack 4-year degrees, and helps them navigate the complexities of federal and state systems.